For the last ten years, the populace of the United States, especially in the southern regions, had been hearing about the pending scarcity of water. That scarcity has now arrived. The growing population and longer life expectancy have increased the populations of not only the USA but throughout the world. The growth of water resources, though, has not kept up with the growth in population and water is becoming more and more scarce. The world is now awakening to the fact that water is a ‘finite resource’. In the southern half of the United States, for example, many municipalities have initiated water restrictions and now water restrictions are becoming common in the northern half, as well. It is now becoming obvious to the general populace that if individual homeowners, businesses and even governmental agencies do not make concerted efforts to cut down on their water usage, water rationing measures will only grow more severe.
It is common knowledge that the biggest user of water inside the home is the shower. It goes without saying that the biggest user of water in a hotel or motel is also the shower. In dormitories, schools, hospitals, prisons and military bases, most water used inside the buildings is due to the consumption of water used for showering.
Additionally, water used in a shower has to be heated, hence, the use of energy also comes into play. Most often the water is heated by natural gas, propane, electricity or by coal. These heat-generating sources involve fossil fuels and contribute to commodity shortages and, in the eyes of many, global warning. In any event, the cost of energy has also been rising as the world has become aware that fossil fuel deposits are a finite source, not an infinite source. Heating hot water constitutes a significant percentage of the total energy consumed in a home so that any reduction of hot water use makes an important contribution to energy conservation.
The present invention relates to a method of saving substantial water and the energy used to heat that water used in showers by controlling the flow of water prior to reaching the shower head. Generally speaking, the short piping immediately prior to the showerhead and to which the showerhead is attached, is known as a shower arm. In almost every shower in North America, shower arms are made of half-inch piping or tubing and have half-inch ASTM male pipe threads at both ends. With almost every showerhead manufactured in North America, the upstream end is fitted with a half inch ASTM female threaded connector for attachment to the downstream end of the shower arm. Other than the hot and cold water shower handle or handles, depending on the style, the only other parts of the shower one sees is the shower head and the shower arm. All the other piping of a normal shower assembly is hidden behind or within the wall behind the shower apparatus and most of that piping is generally always one-half inch.
The principal water flow controls of a shower are the hot and cold water handles with which the user in the shower regulates the flow volume and the temperature. The novelty of the present invention places—for the first time—a secondary water flow control method into the shower arm. All prior art has placed the secondary water flow control into a segment of a showerhead. The new art allows for flow reduction very different from that normally found in a showerhead. In every case, the flow control apparatus within a showerhead is there so that the person using the shower can easily control the water flow at will. This is in sharp contrast to the intent of the present invention, which, in the interest of conserving water, is to take the control over water flow away from the person who is taking a shower. Hotel management, for example, may not be able to control the time a guest spends in the shower but with the new art, management can now easily and inexpensively control the volume to the showerhead. The present invention provides for flow control over the water that exits the showerhead irrespective of the type, style, brand or advertised benefits of whatever showerhead is presently being used in the shower.
A novel feature of the present invention is that the flow control valve in the shower arm is a simple set screw inserted into a section of the shower arm with the set screw having an outer end designed to receive a small tool. This allows for the tool to be an Allen wrench or the tool-receiving end can even be designed to accept a specially-designed tool to further limit the tool's availability and limit access to those who would try to defeat the intent of saving water. In either case, the chance of a person being in the shower with the required tool to change the setting is severely reduced. In the case of a specially-designed tool, it would be almost impossible for the user to change the settings.
Additionally, the preferred embodiment brings forth one of the more novel features of the invention which suggests that the water flow control is a rather small screw located in an obscure part of the shower arm to reduce its visibility to the shower user so that the user may not even become aware of its presence. To further minimize the awareness of the little valve, all that is visible is a very small part of just one end of the screw. The valve screw, or valve plug as it is usually called, only goes into the shower arm from one side of the pipe and does not pass through to the other side.
Therefore, a most important feature of the present invention provides a flow control valve means that is basically intended for use by one, or a representative of one, who is responsible for initiating water conservation policy and generally who is also responsible for paying the water and energy bills. The new art is mainly directed for the benefit of management at hotels and motels, water management personnel for schools, gymnasiums, prisons, military installations, and wherever shower usage results in large amounts of water and energy being expended. Also, the new art is directed towards the bill-paying parents in families where pre-teen and teenage children oftentimes take longer showers than may be necessary. In all the above cases, the users generally have little or no concern for the water being used while they shower but those who pay the water bills each month are monetarily penalized due to that lack of concern.
The clear intent of the invention is to make it difficult for the user in a shower to alter the flow settings that have been established by the person who is responsible for paying the water and energy bills. The reduction of flow will result in less GPMs (gallons per minute) being expended by the user in the shower, which will result in lower water usage and lower water and energy bills for the person who must pay those bills.